All praises belong to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, the Supreme God of the early and later generations, the One Who created all creations as a manifestation of His Powers, and made reward a manifestation of His Kindness. He commanded goodness and prohibited wrongdoing and transgression.
We praise Him, Glorified and Exalted He is. We thank Him and we repent unto Him. We seek refuge with Him from the evils of our soul and the evils of our bad conduct. Whoever Allah has guided is the one that is indeed guided and nobody can lead such astray. And whoever is led astray, then for such, there is no helper/protector that can guide him.
I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone. He has no partner or associate. To Him belong all Dominion and all Praises, and He has Power over all things. I testify also that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) is His slave and Messenger. May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be on him, his household, his companions and all those that follow them in goodness till the Day of Judgment.
Thereafter, servants of Allah, dear listeners! Part of the goodness that Allah has commanded is the one that is directed to the parents, as evidenced in the Qur’aan in many verses that go alongside the worship of Allah Alone, such a s the Words of Allah Ta’alah: “Worship God and associate nothing with Him, and to parents do good”[An-Nisaa: 36]. And also His Saying: “And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him, and to parents, good treatment.” (Al-Israai:23). And so for this reason, our sermon today will be about kindness to parents and caution against being disobedient to them.
Dear listening brethren, I enjoin you and myself with the fear of Allah in open and in secret. It is indeed the foundation of virtues and a praiseworthy fort. You should know that kindness to parents is considered as one of the most beloved deeds to Allah Ta’alah and is one of the most excellent after worshipping Allah Ta’alah. The Scholar of the Ummah and the Interpreter of the Qur’aan, Abdullah ibn Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said:
‘There are three verses that put three things together, and one of them would not be acceptable without its accompanying others’.
The first of them: ‘”Obey Allah and obey the Messenger” (Gaafir:12), and whoever obeys Allah but does not obey the Messenger, it would not be accepted from him’. The second is: “So establish the Salaat and give the Zakkat” (Al-Baqarah:43), so whoever prays salaay but does not give zakaat, it would not be accepted from him.
The third is: “…For you be grateful to me and your parents. To me is your return” (Luqmaan:14), so whoever is grateful to Allah but is not grateful to his parents has come short.
One of the status of goodness to parents is that, it is one of the obligations of the religion (Islam) and the fundamentals of faith and of its greatness before Allah apart from being associated with the Tawheed (The Unification) of Allah, it is a requirement for acceptance by Allah and the people. It is also a cause for abundance of sustenance and longevity. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Anyone who wants his term of life lengthened and to have his provision expanded should be good to his parents and maintain ties of kinship” (Ahmad). Just as the kindness to them in their old age is a great act of closeness to Allah, the Exalted, and a reason for success in this world and happiness in the hereafter.
Several hadith were related from the Prophet (peace be upon him) on the virtues of the parents, some of which indicate that kindness to them is a reason to earn the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted. Narrated Abdullah ibn ‘Umar said, “The pleasure of the Lord lies in the pleasure of the parent. The anger of the Lord lies in the anger of the parent.” (Tirmidhi)
Also, the prayers of the righteous one to his parents are answered, Allah delivers him from distress and save him from adversities.
Perhaps the story of those who were locked up in the Cave is a sign for everyone who wants to be exhorted, when the rock fell from the top of the mountain and blocked the entrance of the cave. They said to each other. ‘Think of such good (righteous) deeds which, you did for Allah’s sake only, and invoke Allah by giving reference to those deeds so that Allah may relieve you from your difficulty. one of them said, ‘O Allah! I had my parents who were very old and I had small children for whose sake I used to work as a shepherd. When I returned to them at night and milked (the sheep), I used to start giving the milk to my parents first before giving to my children. And one day I went far away in search of a grazing place (for my sheep), and didn’t return home till late at night and found that my parents had slept. I milked (my livestock) as usual and brought the milk vessel and stood at their heads, and I disliked to wake them up from their sleep, and I also disliked to give the milk to my children before my parents though my children were crying (from hunger) at my feet. So this state of mine and theirs continued till the day dawned. (O Allah!) If you considered that I had done that only for seeking Your pleasure, then please let there be an opening through which we can see the sky.’ So Allah made for them an opening through which they could see the sky.” (Bukhari)
The Prophet had counted negligence of caring for the parents or disobedience to them as one of the major sins. Narrated Abu Bakra: The Prophet said thrice, “Should I inform you out the greatest of the great sins?” They said, “Yes, O Allah’s Apostle!” He said, “To join others in worship with Allah and to be undutiful to one’s parents.” The Prophet then sat up after he had been reclining (on a pillow) and said, “And I warn you against giving a false witness, and he kept on saying that warning till we thought he would not stop. (Al-bukhari)
If we look at our conditions, we will find the severe negligence with regards to being good to our fathers and mothers, which have resulted into several acts of disobedience. We seek Allah’s forgiveness and safety.
Disobedience to Parents has many forms and manifestations that may be hidden to some people, these include:
1 – For the child to manifest pride and arrogance over his parents due to a reason such as affluence in wealth, high educational or social status, and so on.
2- To neglect them without any supporter or maintainer, such that they are left begging people around.
3- To raise or prefer others before them such as preferring his friend or wife or even himself.
4- To call them by their names without restraint especially if this act makes them feel some inferiority, disrespect and dishonour.
Some people may ignore the favor of his parents over him, and preoccupies himself away from what is obligatory on him towards them, does he or she not know that kindness to them is great, its virtue precedes, and only the ingratitude would deny this. The doors of success could have been locked against him even if he possesses the world in its entirety.
Among the forms of kindness to parents are the following:
1. Being obedient to them in everything, as long as their command is not a disobedience to Allah, the Exalted. If it contradicts Allah’s command, then politeness must be employed in responding to them without holding their words, while making them understand the situation, then implementing what is in accordance with the law of Allah.
2- Providing them with service and care, especially when they are weak, helping them to do their affairs and providing them with means of comfort.
3. Being gentle with them in all cases, with compassion while using politeness in both verbal and physical action in addressing them while dealing with them with patience and endurance.
4. The need to be patience with them regarding what they love, even if you dislike it, and being keen on refraining from what they dislike even if you like it.
5. In the event of their death, it does not mean that since they are dead charity has ceased. This act of goodness is represented through concern in several things, including:
– Seeking forgiveness for them by asking for mercy and making frequent prayers for them to earn rewards and forgiveness of sins.
– Joining ties of their kinship, being good to those they loved when alive among their family and relatives.
– Giving charity and establishing a (sodaqatun jariyyah) continuous charity, such as digging a well or doing good on their behalf, or dedicating the reward to them, or contributing to building a mosque, or establishing anything that could benefit people.
So kindness to parents is one of the most important things because we see today signs of disobedience to parents in words and deeds. Therefore, we must all earnestly take up these abandoned duties that come with great rewards that outweigh that of jihad in the cause of Allah. Let’s be prepared (for these tasks), may Allah be merciful to you.
THE SECOND SERMON
All praises belong to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, the Compassionate, the Kind.
Today, it is worthy to talk about the effort of a French non-governmental organization called “Save the Deprived Children” which focuses its concern on the children’s conditions, especially those who need protection from all forms of abuses that resulted from wars and riots that broke out in different countries, especially the Arab Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, and others.
Accordingly, the organization chose the sixth day of January annually for the occasion to offer assistance, and protection to children in particular from all forms of abuse, and the mistreatment of their innocent parents turning them to refugees without any concern for their rights.
Our religion, Islam is ahead in the concern for caring for orphans, supporting them and extending a helping hand to them, in addition to allotting a great reward for anyone who undertakes the responsibility towards them throughout the year, wherever they are, whether in war or peace.
Allah, The Almighty answered on behalf of the Messenger when he was asked: (وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ اليَتَامَى قُلْ إِصْلَاحٌ لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ وَإنْ تُخَالِطُوهُمْ فَإِوَانُكُمْ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ المُفْسِدَ مِنَ المُصْلِحِ…) “And they ask you about orphans. Say, “Improvement for them is best. And if you mix your affairs with theirs – they are your brothers. And Allah knows the corrupter from the amender … ” (Al-baqarah: 220).
For these reasons Islam have placed a strong warning and caution against inflicting any harm or danger on them through the Messenger, peace be upon him, he said: “”The best house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are well treated. The worst house among the Muslims is the house in which orphans are ill treated. I and the guardian of the orphan will be in the Garden like that,” indicating his two fingers.” (Ibn Majah).
We are a nation with a message, that carried Islam for centuries, we grew up with it and the intertwining of our history and its history. Our noble Prophet instructed us to adhere to decent morals and kind treatment of orphans. He was previously commanded thus in the Qur’an: (فَأمَّا اليَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ وَأَمّا السّائِل فَلَا تَنْهَرْ وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدّثْ) “So as for the orphan, do not oppress [him]. And as for the petitioner, do not repel [him]. But as for the favor of your Lord, report [it].” (Ad-duhaa: 8-10)
He (the Prophet) peace be upon him, have also promised that the guardian of the orphan would not be separated from his honorable place in the Paradise. He said: “I and the guardian of the orphan will be in the Garden like that,” indicating his two fingers.” (Ibn Majah).
We beseech Allah, the Almighty to make be among them.
Du’aa
O Allah! show us the truth as true, and inspire us to follow it. Show us falsehood as falsehood, and inspire us to abstain from it. O Allah, guide us among those whom You have guided, pardon us among those You have pardoned, turn to us in friendship among those on whom You have turned in friendship, and bless us in what You have bestowed, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. We seek Your forgiveness and repented unto You.
For verily You decree and none can influence You; and he is not humiliated whom You have befriended. Blessed are You, O Lord, and Exalted.). Grant us a righteous deed that brings us closer to you, forgive us and our parents, and have mercy on them just as they nurtured us at young age, and reward them on our behalf the best of what you reward your righteous servants. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad, his family and companions.
▪︎BEING THE THIRD SERMON FOR THE MONTH OF JUMAADAL-UULA DATED 24TH JUMAADAL-UULA 1442 AH (8TH JANUARY, 2021 CE) BY CONFERENCE OF ISLAMIC ORGANISATIONS (CIO)